


Aquato, not Aquatic

by Theyipyipyip



Category: Coraline - Fandom, Gravity Falls, ParaNorman, Psychonauts
Genre: Background Dipper/Norman if you squint, F/M, Gen, Hand of Galochio, Mystery Kids
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-23
Updated: 2013-02-23
Packaged: 2017-12-03 07:55:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/696004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Theyipyipyip/pseuds/Theyipyipyip
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first vacation the Mystery Kids have in a while also happens to be the day that they discover Raz's fear of water. Raz wishes he would have just told them, instead of having Coraline throw him into the middle of a lake.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Aquato, not Aquatic

                The self-named Mystery Crew spent a great majority of their time risking their lives, getting injured and saving one another’s bacon. About five or six days a week were spent like this, and it certainly wasn’t low-stress, much as they all enjoy it, and the stress really built up after a while. Therefore, when Sasha Nein suggested a day of vacation at a lake near Gravity Falls, they almost literally leapt at the chance.

                They arrived at said lake early in the afternoon. The lake looked very serene; a few McMansions dotted the other side of the lake, with trees lining the other sides of the water. They had chosen a nice park-like area with a wide, soft lawn and a small beach. Extending out from the beach was a well-kept dock. The lake was fairly clear, and surprisingly clean. The sky was mostly clear, with a few fluffy clouds adding to the peaceful effect. It was, all in all, a lovely place to relax.

                The tranquil effect was, of course, slaughtered viciously as the group sprinted to the lakeside. Everyone was tugging off the clothing they wore over their bathing suits, throwing their shoes at one another, and shrieking with laughter. Coraline ran to the end of the dock and did a rather impressive dive into the water, Dipper and Norman cannonballed into the lake on one side of the dock, and Mabel plopped herself into the sand and began inflating a brightly-colored beach ball. Razputin was comparatively composed, laying a large beach towel onto the grass, placing an almost annoyingly bright umbrella at the head of the towel, and grabbing a water bottle full of juice out of his backpack. He proceeded to throw himself dramatically onto the towel and lay back, occasionally sipping his drink.

                After Mabel finished inflating the large beach ball, she dropped it onto the sand in front of her and hopped onto it, finding her balance quicker than anyone expected. She looked over at Raz and waved wildly, making the ball rock violently under her.

                “Raz, look! I’m levitating!” she called, letting out the occasional snicker of glee.

                Raz couldn’t have kept a straight face if he tried. “Yeah, you’re a natural! I bet I’ll have to teach you how to float with it pretty soon.”

                Mabel bounced in excitement, which caused her to face-plant rather spectacularly into the sand. Raz frowned in concern and began to stand in order to check on her, but she simply sat up and laughed brightly, waving him off. He cautiously sat back, his frown melting as he watched her bounce across the sand, laughing off every fall. He grinned back at her, trying to stifle the swarm of butterflies that had made their home in his stomach.

                He glanced up when Coraline lifted herself back onto the dock and walked toward him. She planted her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow at him, smirking a bit. “Are you going to spend the whole time here lying on that towel, or are you actually going to have some fun?”

                Raz let out a playful huff, waving her off with one hand. “Gosh, Coraline, can’t you see I’m tanning? Someone’s gotta be the heartthrob of the group, and I don’t see anyone else stepping up to the plate.” He sighed dramatically, fanning himself with his hand. “I must bear the burden of being beautiful. It takes a lot of work, you know.”

                Coraline groaned, rolling her eyes. “Raz, you already look like an orange, and you have an _umbrella_ covering you. Seems to me that you’re just being lazy.”

                Raz placed a hand on his chest in mock-shock. “Me? _Lazy?_ Coraline, I am offended! How can I go on with my life with an accusation like that over my head?”

                “That doesn’t make sense.” Coraline frowned. She seemed to ponder something for a moment before she smiled and reached down, grabbing his arm. “Well, if you aren’t going to have any fun on your own, I guess I’ll have to _make_ you do something.”

                Raz narrowed his eyes but allowed himself to be pulled up. “I’m not doing _nothing,_ I’m breathing and drinking punch. My heart is even beating, and just because I’m an overachiever, I am drawing breath. I therefore claim the right to have no need to do anything else.”

                Coraline rolled her eyes again, pulling on his arm and dragging him towards the lake. “Not gonna work, buster.”

                Raz’s eyes widened as he realized that they were heading towards the dock. He immediately planted his feet into the ground, attempting to pull his arm back. “Uhh, no, that’s not happening.”

                Coraline grinned evilly at him, waggling her eyebrows. “What, is little Raz afraid of water?”

                Raz pulled his arm again, his joking attitude completely lost. “No, seriously, Coraline, you are not taking me anywhere near that water.”

                She simply began tugging him towards the lake again. Raz couldn’t fight this much; he relied on mental abilities and therefore didn’t have any significant strength, his body mainly honed in flexibility. Coraline, however, was almost the strongest one out of all of them. “Come on, scaredy-cat, the water isn’t going to hurt you.”

                “Oh, yes, it is! Coraline, stop, I can’t swim!” His fighting became a little more hysterical, his free arm pin-wheeling and his legs stumbling across the wood of the dock. His breath was coming out alarmingly fast, in full panic mode. “Coraline _, stop_!”

                “Oh, come on, the water isn’t even that deep.” She scoffed.

                At this point, everyone else had become aware of the drama that was a shrieking and flailing Raz. Dipper and Norman swam back over to the dock, looking concerned, while Mabel was watching the display in surprise, seated on her ball on the beach.

                “Look, Coraline, he doesn’t have to go in the water.” Dipper stated in concern, lifting himself onto the dock a few feet behind the struggling pair, Norman following him.

                They were almost at the end of the dock by now. Raz had lost every single shred of cool he had possessed, flailing wildly and yelling, “I can’t swim, I can’t go in water, I’ll die, Coraline, _stop_!!”

                Mabel began walking over, glaring at Coraline. “Cor, if he doesn’t wanna swim, then leave him alone! You’re being super mean.”

                Coraline stopped at the end of the dock, turning back to them and glaring. “What’s the big deal? It’s just water, it isn’t a monster. He can’t be afraid of it all the time!”

                “Yes, it is and yes, I can!” Raz yelped, continuing his attempt to tug his arm free. He let out a breath in relief when Coraline finally dropped his arm, eyeing the edge of the dock in front of him.

                By now, the rest of them had caught up to the pair. Mabel proceeded to begin arguing with Coraline over whether or not it was important that Raz get in the water, Dipper and Norman hanging back and looking extremely uncomfortable with the conflict.

                Norman stepped closer to Raz. “Hey, it’s not a big deal, if you don’t like water then – _what the hell is that thing?!”_

                Coraline spun around in response to Norman’s shout, her arms coming up to balance her. This was a very bad solution, as her arm slammed into Raz’s back and knocked him forwards.

                Into the lake.

Straight into the Hand of Galochio.

                Raz let out a terrified yell as he fell, cut short as the hand grabbed his torso tightly and snapped straight before pulling him into the lake. Coraline jumped backward, and everyone let out a shocked cry.

                Norman ran to the edge of the dock, yelling at the rest of the teens, “It was a giant hand! A giant hand pulled him under the water, someone needs to get him up!” This earned him the hysterical yet sarcastic yell from Coraline, “You think?!”

                “I need to get him out of the water!” Norman yelled, beginning to step off the dock. He was yanked backwards by Dipper, who pushed him onto the dock stubbornly and pinned him there.

                “There is no way I’m letting you do that. You can’t swim as well as I can and I am not putting you in that kind of danger,” he stated bluntly, pressing his hands down on Norman’s shoulders in warning before standing, turning, and doing a clean dive into the lake, in such rapid succession that no one had time to protest. Norman made a wild grab at Dipper that missed horribly, lurching upwards and extending his hand in desperation towards where he had disappeared in the water. He soon shot up and bolted to the edge of the dock, crouching and leaning dangerously far over it in attempt to see into the lake.

                Nobody there could have told you how long Dipper and Raz remained in the water; it seemed like hours, tension and fear making the air almost palpable. They were hyperaware of every breath, conscious of the fact that the two in the lake couldn’t take in even one. At some point, Coraline fell to her knees and Norman had wrapped his arms around his knees, staring unblinkingly at the calm surface of the lake, refusing to lose concentration for even a moment in case he missed something.

                Both of them would insist that they simply let out a gasp of relief when they saw the pair break the surface of the water near the shore, though the sounds were really more like strangled cries. Mabel wouldn’t even try to hide the fact that she shrieked.

                As the three raced down the dock to the shore, it quickly became clear to all of them that whatever had pulled Raz into the lake wasn’t going down without a fight, and Dipper was quickly losing. He stumbled into the shallow part of the lake, the water only knee-high, but he was coughing and spluttering water, his arms wrapped tightly around Raz’s torso. When the trio reached Dipper, they all grabbed him, helping tug the two onto the shore and away from the apparition in the water. With their combined forces, they easily dragged the two onto the sand, only Norman able to see the hand as it seemed to spasm in frustration before disappearing back under the water. He let out a sigh, turning back toward the two breathing heavily on the grass.

                It soon became clear that only one of them was breathing heavily. The other wasn’t breathing at all.

                Mabel had apparently noticed this, and fell to her knees dramatically next to Raz, throwing her arms to her sides as she announced, “Cool it, I got this! I saw this on an episode of Jersey Shore!” The rest of them held their breath as she tilted Raz’s head back, plugged his nose, and leaned down to seal their mouths together. Dipper pushed himself off the ground with a grunt, sitting up and nodding at everyone assuredly.

                “She’s CPR certified – I think Raz will be okay.” He assured, still slightly out of breath.

                “Are you sure?” Coraline whispered, wiping at her eyes as tears of guilt streamed down her face.

                As if in answer to her question, Raz suddenly started coughing, water bubbling up from his throat. Mabel turned him over slightly, allowing him to hack the water up onto the shore instead of choking on it. Everybody backed away from the two, letting Raz gasp for air, supported by Mabel’s arms. Water flew from his mouth as he coughed, his desperate gasps eventually slowing into deep breaths.

                Mabel looked at him once he had calmed, smiling widely. “Feeling better?”

                Raz looked up at her, returning a weak smile. “’M alright.”

                Coraline wandered over, rubbing her arms and looking down. “I-I called an ambulance. They should be here in a few minutes.” She stayed silent for a moment, appearing as if she was about to walk away, before she looked at him fully. “I’m so, so sorry, Razputin. I had no idea… I shouldn’t have… I just… I’m sorry.”

                Raz looked up at her, letting out a soft laugh that turned to coughing relatively quickly. After recovering, he replied, “You didn’t know and I should have told you. Doesn’t mean I’m glad you did it.”

                The corner of Coraline’s mouth twitched up after a wince. “So no hard feelings?”

                Raz shook his head. “Nah. But you’re paying for the ambulance ride.”

                Coraline laughed humorlessly and turned away, calling out over her shoulder, “I think I can do that.” After she left, Raz became very aware of the fact that Mabel hadn’t unwrapped her arms from around him. He raised an eyebrow at her, hoping he wasn’t flushed. “You gonna let go now or what?”

                Mabel giggled and shook her head. “Nope!”

                Raz smirked and rolled his eyes. After a moment, he waggled his eyebrows at her. “So… Did we make out?”

                Mabel burst out laughing and hugged him tightly, nuzzling his forehead with her own. “Guess we did. We can do that more, if you want!”

                Raz smiled. “I’d be cool with that.”

                If any of the others noticed the kiss they shared, they never commented on it.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my second fic, and my first for the Mystery Kids. Constructive criticism would be lovely.  
> EDIT:  
> I currently have somewhat of a beta (A friend who corrects the grammar and gives general corrections for the story) and I love her dearly, but I would greatly appreciate a more experienced beta. If you know anyone who would be interested/you would be interested, I would love the help!


End file.
